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RX-15963
Episode "RX-15963" was the first aired episode of the 2015 Anthology Reboot but actually the second episode written for it. Going under the production title "Alien Gods," the episode was shot between weekends working on black_hole32 (link to come) over the course of three or four hours in COM 101. Initial Pitch: "PREMISE: A person wakes up one day in a bright, white room with no windows or even walls. They are in another dimension, presumably heaven - though they most certainly are dead. They hear two voices, both distinct from each other yet equally sarcastic and acidic, jeering them for being wrong about the afterlife completely - as it turns out, the Earth was merely a petri dish experiment led by these two omnipotent aliens, who wanted to see what happened when water and warmth were added to some rock in space. CHARACTERS: -THE HUMAN: innocent, confused, and most certainly dead. Any gender, presumably early 20's in age. -VOICES: Think "Almighty Tallest" from Invader Zim. Sarcastic humor and constant belittling and mockery abound. IMPORTANT NOTE: BOTH VOICES WILL BE DONE VIA POST-FILMING VOICE ACTING, WITH INITIAL VOICE ACTING DONE ON THE SCENE BUT OFFSCREEN. THE HUMAN MUST ALWAYS BE LOOKING SLIGHTLY UPWARDS WHEN ADDRESSING THE VOICES. -VOICE 1: The more REASONABLE one. The Left Brain of the operation. Did this for results. -VOICE 2: The more CREATIVE one. The Right Brain of the operation. Did this for an art project. Created the Platypus. We'll need a good 9-10 writers just like last time, so if you have ideas, bring them. Writing for this episode will be due NEXT THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15." Detailed outline for the writers: PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS  Where is everyone else that’s dead? Doesn’t need to be explained.  Need two voices and one character  Harder to write out b/c dialog  Weird natural selection that he’s one remaining  Is this creepy or comical?  More creepy  Map out the topics of discussion instead of action  Guy as lawyer of Earth since mostly destroyed—Aliens kept him alive to argue for Earth  College student in science and art—but is he an actual lawyer?  Guy is dead(?)  Arguing case whether to keep earth—the alien’s petri-dish-style planet—one of many CHARACTERISTICS OF LAWYER MAN  Will be a lot of research to defend the earth; is amateur instead and convincing, not using bunch of laws  Needs to be a great relatable guy  He’s essentially human; maybe not even lawyer since other type of speaking  Law student that’s not sure of being lawyer?  College student that’s dual-major; essentially human and covers both arts and sciences  What if he doesn’t remember life on Earth; short flashbacks of life  If lawyer cannot remember enough to coherently argue b/c law-speak  What if all he remembers is the bad stuff in his life; war and stuff; progression for him to remember the good while trying to argue it; ambiguous ending  Amnesia given to bring out the strongest memories of humanity that decides fate of Earth  Hate and Passion; strong emotions coming through  Because he’s a lawyer he experiences the worst side of humanity and only at end he remembers the good = gets around the lawyer talk b/c of amnesia  Personality v. knowledge; is he different man for being lawyer? More analytical? Muscle memory from thinking that way—cocky too perhaps. Lawyer traits, strong opinion of right and just but can do this without bringing up law talk  Giving a horror aspect—studio, wanted black room with only him lit, maybe fog?  This is all in weird dark chamber place but memories maybe shift in and out of the room? Family member behind him just out of lit part looking ghostly  Remembers something really good that’s the turning point at the end  Initially arguing against earth w/ bad memories but shifting over to argue it at the end  Aliens manipulating memories to make them all bad and has to figure out if he can trust himself? What’s the point of killing him then to argue it?..  End w/ him being dead, gives reason to save earth, asks to go back and the response is no; you’re dead, lights off..?  Inside he knows the clients are guilty but has to defend it = has to humanize monsters  How does he himself die? Gun in courthouse? Can’t do that but might be backstory  What if he made up the best memory, in the end? No good in humanity = best memory is him  He says the memory and then flashes and that one where there is no memory there’s no flash  Is he evil? Devil-like; walks off smirking, sets Earth up to continue the evils of it  Really struggling to remember the good; HAS to make it up  How hell-bent are Aliens on destroying the world? Perhaps it is just an experiment; cold and calculated; it is miniscule, nothing to them  Voices have two different personalities; super scientific and super artsy? Two types of brain; right and left and how they make decisions—creepier if the voices were distant and disconnected and didn’t have personalities; only concerned amongst selves? More involved voices? Difficult to do multiple points. Can push to 20 if had to  Good cop vs. bad cop w/ aliens; opposing forces; save vs. destroy/don’t care—lawyer brought in to settle the debate; cannot have one alien support him and have him biased; both have same motive  If don’t remember life, would that change his way of thinking about Earth and how it should be?  Like a ghost, doesn’t realize he’s dead until stated and that’s what motivates him; can’t NOT care about Earth  This is limbo and potential to go back? Defending all of humanity, innocent until proven guilty or guilty until proven innocent?  Aliens both against saving Earth but custom to give the planet a dying chance with this lawyer?  Aliens officially are alternating personalities but are apathetic and both against it but give him a chance to save it; like angel and devil on shoulder; they created world as experiment and since humans so awful must be exterminated, these Aliens are the voices. They liked Earth at first but hate what we have become.  Good still in there, want the earth to succeed from a judicial—we can’t agree so let’s let him argue it instead—while other says nah and trying to find the memories  Lie at the end is twist; good memory is a lie  Explaining emotion of good memory but not understood and kill Earth?  Maybe Lawyer not capable of being good anymore  He develops as memories come out; static then dynamic  Starts to remember bad memories and that bad but wants to save ppl so lies about what bad memories are about to make them good memories? Or makes up a full new memory before  Character is evil to aliens for lying inherently; starts not remembering and static then remembers and bad and lies to make goodness up to save earth. Gender ambiguous until casting. Name is It = aliens don’t care.  Do we see the character die? No. Confusion of viewer as well as character  Male or female main character?  “losing a child” memory—either dies or they leave  Memories to be SHOWN THAT MEMORIES so that they’re understood  Single piece of paper and pencil and she has to write down memories? Evidence? But she’s supposed to be talking  What is she wearing?  Showing aliens = backlit like Twilight zone, maybe different lights ACT 1  Character wakes up in black room—“It’s awake.”  Aliens reading through file of main character to show killed specifically—goes w/ flashbacks  File starts w/ basic facts—setting up the experiment—aliens interrupt her to continue going (only comedic relief then goes intense)  File reading ends with Aliens saying why character there; kill Earth (has to be a COLD reason, not an EVIL reason; liability)  “Prisoner at the bar, what do you have to say in your defense?” ACT 2  This is the trial—memories  Four memories triggered by certain words said by Aliens  FOUR MEMORIES BASED OFF OF FOUR HORSEMEN OF APOCALYPSE—famine, war, pestilence, death—figure out right order of them  Start w/ disease, then with war, then with famine, then death  Diverse characters in life b/c everyone dies, no matter what  Character specifically manipulates these memories to make the bad look good in eyes of aliens; defending the worst of the worst people  Disease = suing a hospital for malpractice; unjust, or stealing drugs and selling them  healthcare for all  War = Refugees? Defending War Criminals? Terrorist? Unibomber? Domestic war? Gang violence and defending terrorists; defending gang-bangers/mafia ppl. Girl Gang?  Famine = poverty; child support or landlords  Death = murderer that she knows guilty. Other memory = loses a case that she knows the person is innocent and the client is executed.  Two memories for each one  Healthcare—war—poverty (we gave them trees; why do so many not have houses?)—murdering  Further (s)he gets into defending humanity, the more they are losing the will to do so ACT 3  “Thank you for your time” shuts off lights?  Can I go home now—she’s dead and left alone  Memories are a lie  “By the way, my name is ________” perhaps?  Ambiguous if the world lives “thank you for your time; we’ll take this into consideration subject ____” then on to the name line. Character named Fitzgerald? Or is cut off before can say name  Ends w/ another person from another planet that is created; come up Writers = Act 1: Angel Michelli, Ezgi Toper, Michael Snapp Act 2: Marcus, Jess, Vania Act 3: Justin von Bosau, Matthew Rose